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Help New England reach its CPS-3 goal

The American Cancer Society is working on one of its biggest research projects ever – a ground-breaking study that will help prove what causes cancer and what does not. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of scientific research that may change the course of cancer forever.

We are looking for people ages 29 to 65 - who have never had cancer (excluding basal and squamous cell skin cancers) to enroll in our Cancer Prevention Study-3, the only longitudinal study of its kind that will help researchers better understand the lifestyle, environmental, and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer.

Time is running out! We have until December 31, 2013, to reach our nationwide goal of 300,000 people. At the start of October, we had recruited 275,920 participants. In the midst of severe weather and flooding in Colorado this fall, our staff team in the greater Denver area successfully completed their CPS-3 enrollments, bringing in more than 1,100 participants into the study. Karen Hill, senior director of partner relationships, said, “We heard some amazing stories and even had citizens from Longmont, the hardest-hit community with the floods, travel to the Denver area later in the week to enroll as it was a personal priority for them.” You can help New England reach its goal of 14,896 by telling everyone you know about this historic study.

How else can you help?

• If you live near one of the enrollment sites, call your local ACS office to get posters and flyers to put at your local library, gym, salon, bank, coffee shop, church, temple, or any other community center. • Post information about CPS-3 on Facebook and/or Twitter. • Share this CPS-3 video with your family and friends. • Enlist the help of survivors. They are living proof of the importance of research.• Enroll yourself!

11 Enrollment Sites in Massachusetts and Connecticut

We have 11 enrollment sites in Massachusetts and Connecticut in October and November. To find a site near you, please look at the map below. Click on the letter closest to you and follow the link to register for enrollment. On Sunday, Oct. 27, we will be enrolling people at Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in Westport, CT. No registration is required. Simply show up between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and look for the CPS-3 tent located behind registration..

At Making Strides Against Breast Cancer events in Hartford, New Haven, and Boston in October, we enrolled 105, 45, and 80 participants, respectively.

What to expectDuring the enrollment process, your waist will be measured and a trained phlebotomist will take about 7 teaspoons of your blood. Enrollees also will be asked to fill out two surveys, one more comprehensive than the other. The latter you can do at your leisure at home. The last requirement is that enrollees must be willing to fill out follow-up surveys every couple of years.

To learn much more about CPS-3 and why it is so important, visit cancer.org/cps3.Key FindingsSince this is our third-generation study, you may wonder what we’ve learned from the other studies. Here are a few things:

• The substantial effect of cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke on lung cancer and premature death, leading to the US Surgeon General’s report, warning labels on cigarettes, and numerous smoke-free legislative measures. As a result, smoking rates in men have dropped from 50% in the 1950s to about 23% today.

• The link between larger waist size and increased death rates from cancer and other causes, even among people considered to be normal weight

• The first to show the significant impact of obesity on the risk of dying from cancer

• The benefit of regular physical activity and harmful effects of too much time spent sitting in relation to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and mortality

• The considerable impact of air pollution on heart and lung conditions, which motivated the Environmental Protection Agency to propose more stringent limits on air pollution

Why do we need a new study? Because:

• The people enrolled in CPS-2 are aging • Changes in our environment and lifestyles, plus new scientific discoveries and technology, have changed the way we live, eat, work, exercise, etc.• We need to study diverse populations (previous studies have had predominantly Caucasian populations)• Our understanding of cancer has improved, as have our understanding of smoking and obesity, so we are able to design a more targeted study.